Being an outsider these days has a lot of advantages. It can allow ideas to crystallize in ways that someone who is too close to an industry may avoid. Today we welcome Nate Pierotti, Principal of New Stack Ventures, an early-stage fund whose mission is to invest in outsiders and founders that don’t come from the same educational pedigrees or locations we typically see in the venture world. New Stack has been encouraging entrepreneurship in new places and innovation in new technologies and recently announced the close of their second fund of $42.6 million. In this episode, we discuss the mass exodus from the Silicon Valley, the effects of the pandemic and the recent market meltdown on VC firms, and the future of technological startups.
About Nate Pierotti:
With New Stack Ventures, Nate Pierotti has used his deep technical knowledge and invested in startups like insurance platform Covie and life sciences platform BTR. He was previously co-founder and CEO of Monarch, a sports robotics company. He received multiple patents for his work at Monarc, and was part of engineering and product design. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa.
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In this episode we discuss:
02:33 Nate’s background and his journey into startups and technology
04:34 Nate’s experience with building his first startup, Monarc
07:13 What differentiates non-coastal founders in the VC world
08:20 Nate’s transition into venture capital with New Stack Ventures
14:24 How entrepreneurs have resisted the pressure to move to the Silicon Valley
17:06 How New Stack Ventures keeps its founders from becoming complacent
18:01 Finding and scaling management teams locally
20:48 The future of outsider-built technologies and startups
25:37 What the mass exodus from the Silicon Valley means for entrepreneurs
28:00 Supporting diverse founders outside of the Valley
29:10 How New Stack competes with other firms in the Midwest, and firms along the coasts
35:41 How New Stack advises its founders and helps them access capital and opportunities
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New Stack's Nate Pierotti on why betting on Outsiders is a winning strategy